When I first started writing this blog, I assumed I’d do it for a year and then call it quits. Then in a strange fit of inspiration, I wrote the first 16 blog posts that came out in about two weeks. By the time the first month was published I had written about 30 topics. There was no direction, just sharing my thoughts for a while, but that inspiration made me want to write more music. So, I took a month off from blog writing to write and record my first album from December 2021 to January 2022. That was a goal that I had back in high school, unfortunately, I didn’t really like that album a whole lot…I picked up blogging again and wrote consistently for a couple months. By the time I hit the 1-year mark of writing the blog, I had written 78 topics (several never published) and 134 songs in addition to those found on the album. I accidentally released my second album on January 19th, 2023, officially on my birthday and I began answering questions for the story of my life under a totally different account. That to say, I’ve written a great deal of my thoughts in these 2 years. At 42 it feels premature to tell my life story, but I’ll roll with it.
I have been inspired to write by many things and living in Nevada, which is visually beautiful and politically interesting…plus Vegas things of course, helped keep my mind in a nice comfort zone. Then I moved to Texas, and the inspiration changed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still inspired to write, and my thoughts are still flowing, but the vibe is different as hell. The ideas that primarily take up residence in my mind these days are political and the wacky environment I’m in, probably the general environment too. Politicians haven’t changed their motivations since the Roman Empire, but living in the land of longhorns and oil is something to get used to. Plus, this is my second time living in a legitimately red state, the first time by choice. I can say with no hesitation that it feels different, not all bad, but certainly not all good. I’ll go further and say, not as bad as most people would assume in many ways. Just as bad in other ways though.
Sometimes southern hospitality is just another term for hypocrisy
Lilah Pace
When I first got here, someone mentioned that Texas is known for its Southern hospitality and barbecue. I’ve been here for a couple months now so I can confirm the BBQ is good and I’ve heard several people talk to me about Southern hospitality. Maybe I’m crazy, more than likely I’m not, but I think southern people assume other areas of the country are made up of rude, tree hugging weirdos or something. Outside of it being a term that is used (far too often in my opinion) I don’t think “Southern hospitality” should be something associated with Texas at all unless it means aggressive drivers and a general lack of consideration or concern for each other. In my experience thus far, on average the people in Chicago, Nebraska, and Vegas are far more polite and considerate than the folks here. Texans are nicer than DC by a country, but DC is truly different from most places. An acquired taste if you will.
To that end, every place is an acquired taste. When I first moved to Japan, I didn’t eat a lot of plain white rice…I actually thought it was a weird thing to do. After being there for nearly 4 years I was eating plain white rice all the time. When I moved to Belgium, I thought the food tasted weird, not in a nasty way, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. When I moved back to the U.S. after living 6 straight years overseas EVERYTHING tasted sweet to me. It was tough to deal with initially, but my taste buds have since adjusted. That to say, I won’t judge Texas on the initial taste since it is different from what I liked before. I’ll take a little bit of time to feel it out and then judge this place for what it is, opposed to what it isn’t.
Interestingly enough, the first red state I lived in was Nebraska, but I lived in the blue part of that red state, and I was only a 7-hour drive from civilization (Chicago). Outside of its proximity to Chicago, I wasn’t a fan of Nebraska at all. Even so, I can say the people were friendly, and they didn’t drive like meth addicts. I’m sure there may be 1 or 2 Texans that read this blog and think “this fella’s an asshole” and I will co-sign you on that…but I’m just giving you my initial response to the taste of Texas. My current description would be that most parts of Texas are like a bologna and olives sandwich on some really good quality bread though. Geez, I gagged just reading that back to myself. After a few months of really getting to know the place, there’s a good chance it will grow on me. The area I’m in and Austin are the good bread in this metaphor, so I’m not upset with my choice to move here at the moment it’s like being on an island.
I’d like to say it has been a pleasure!
I’ll still be around in the near term. I get these prompts to write daily, there are a lot of questions to tackle, so if you’ve subscribed and something pops in your inbox between now and January, it’s likely me responding to their prompts. From January on it could be a mixed bag of my normal posts and responses to the prompt.
At any rate, I want to sincerely thank you all for reading these random thoughts and opinions of mine. Considering it is 2023 and people typically consume information via social media or YouTube, it’s pretty cool that you’d actually dedicate a couple minutes of your time every week to reading the random ideas I come up with. My apologies to anyone offended or triggered by my thoughts on religion, trans people, relationships and maybe politics, there’s more to come on those topics for certain. Until then, I’m going to take a few weeks to unpack, organize the house and be as fair as possible in my assessment of the lovely landscape before retooling for the new year. Thanks again.